Nunn Calls For Big Cuts In Europe

Targets Nuclear, Conventional Forces

April 20, 1990|By N.Y. Times News Service

WASHINGTON — Saying the receding threat of conflict with the Soviet Union calls for major changes in military strategy, Sen. Sam Nunn proposed Thursday that the United States reduce the number of aircraft carrier battle groups and cut nuclear and conventional forces in Europe.

Nunn, who as the chairman of the Armed Services Committee is an influential voice on military issues, said the United States should eliminate all its ground-based nuclear missiles and nuclear artillery in Europe.

The House Budget Committee approved a $1.2 trillion fiscal 1991 spending plan, drawing the battle lines for a fight over military spending.A3.^ Nunn, going well beyond the cuts proposed by the administration, suggested reducing aircraft carrier battle groups to 10 to 12, from the current level of 14.

He also said the United States should no longer assume the main responsibility of defending NATO's front lines against a Soviet attack.

Nunn, D-Ga., added the United States should reduce its troop strength in Europe from 305,000 to between 75,000 and 100,000.

The Bush administration has proposed a level of 225,000.

"The question today is not whether we reduce military spending," he said. "That is inevitable. The question is whether we reduce military spending pursuant to a sensible military strategy that meets the threats of today and tomorrow."

Nunn's speech, delivered in the Senate chamber, is likely to serve as a benchmark in the developing debate over how to change American military policy and spending plans in light of the reduced Soviet threat.

His speech was one of the first attempts in Congress to outline a vision for American military forces in a changed world.

Nunn's proposed cuts and recent recommendations by two Republican members of his committee for deeper budget cuts indicate the weight of opinion in Congress is against the administration on long-term military spending proposals.

Nunn has previously accused the Pentagon of failing to develop a coherent strategy, but he had not put forth his own ideas, prompting complaints from some Pentagon officials he was avoiding a stand on difficult military issues.

Some of what Nunn said Thursday echoed well-known Pentagon precepts about the missions the military should perform.

He said American forces should be prepared to deter an attack on the U.S.; deter the use of nuclear weapons by Soviet Union; deter together with allies a conventional Soviet attack in Europe; assist allies in Korea, the Middle East and elsewhere but not substitute for their military forces; operate in small-scale situations as in the December action in Panama; keep sea lanes open, and counter drug trafficking, terrorism and other unconventional threats.

But Nunn differed somewhat from the Pentagon when he set forth guidelines for a strategy to carry out those missions.

He said that revised strategy should aim at deterring a Soviet nuclear attack with significantly lower levels of nuclear weapons.

Nunn said the number of American forces deployed overseas should be substantially reduced and the military roles of the U.S. and its allies should be redefined.

Nunn said more American forces should be put in the reserves. He said the U.S. should also adopt a system of "flexible readiness," in which units that would be used early in a fight would be maintained at a high state of readiness while other units would be less ready.

Nunn challenged the Navy's arguments that it needs 14 aircraft battle groups, noting the Soviet Navy had significantly scaled back its exercises and operations around the world.

He said the Navy could carry out its future missions with 10 to 12 carrier battle groups and argued ships other than aircraft carriers could be used to "show the flag" around the world.

Nunn said it would probably not be feasible to transfer aircraft carriers and submarines into the naval reserve.

But endorsing a theme struck by former Navy Secretary John Lehman, Nunn argued other vessels and Navy planes could be transferred into the reserves, including those used for anti-submarine warfare, the transport of troops and the protection of NATO sea lanes.

"The Navy must get more serious about the use of reserves to handle a portion of the fleet," he said. "Funds will no longer be available to support all of the Navy's fleet at the operational tempos of the cold war."

Nunn did not specify how much the U.S. should spend on the military, adding he would soon provide his views on this subject and the issue of strategic forces in another speech.

Nunn said his guidelines implied a number of important changes in American military forces and strategy.

Specifically, he called for eliminating all short-range nuclear weapons based on land in Europe, perferably through negotiations with Moscow.

"I do not believe that there is any role in a new military strategy for land-based nuclear weapons whose range is so limited that they could only detonate on the soil of our allies or the newly emerging democracies in Eastern Europe," he said.